Workers to take strike action

BHP Billiton
faces an escalation in industrial action with its workforce at its Queensland coalmines joint venture declaring a seven-day strike from next Thursday.

The news came after workers across the seven Bowen Basin coal-mining operations overwhelmingly rejected the company’s second offer on an enterprise agreement covering 3000 workers.

The strike notice came at the end of a bad week for the country’s largest company with its share price dropping 8.5 per cent to $31.46.

The three unions representing workers served BHP Mitsubishi Alliance with a notice of industrial action on Friday night, an escalation in an 18-month battle over its collective agreement that expired last year.

BHP spokeswoman Kelly Quirke said: “Further industrial action is unnecessary and would be harmful for all concerned. As the record has shown, it will not help resolution of an agreement. We are focused on finalising an agreement and will resume discussions to complete the agreement as soon as possible."

The highly unionised workforce, represented by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the Electrical Trades Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, has formed a single bargaining unit to negotiate. The matters of contention centre around the unions’ involvement in the workplace over matters such as safety as well as accommodation.

A secret ballot result was revealed on Friday, with 82.7 per cent voting against the second offer.

Management at the BHP Billiton venture conceded the vote meant the company had to engage better with its workforce, a criticism made by Workplace Relations Minister
Bill Shorten
on Thursday.

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CFMEU’s
Tony Maher
said the company was sending mixed messages. “Of course we will attend the meetings, but this action will go ahead because the company is unwilling to move on issues that are important to the workers. Not the union, but the workers," he said.

BMA president Steve Dumble told the Weekend Financial Review he had “strong support" from both BHP Billiton and Mitsubishi in the dispute after reports the investors had become concerned with management’s approach to the standoff. The company said it had already faced 3200 incidents of industrial action and declared force majeure, or the inability to meet contracts in April, citing industrial action as a contributing factor.

“BMA recognises that we have more work to do with employees to explain the nature of our business circumstances and the benefits of the agreement we are offering," Mr Dumble said.

But Mr Dumble said he would not concede on points that “mortgage the operation’s future".